It is difficult to understand why it has been deemed necessary to set up what is being called a national tourism zone committee to improve the tourist pro-duct when the country has so many local councils, far more than it should have, considering its size.

Yet, any move meant to improve the tourist product is welcome, even if it would seem that the country is creating greater bureaucracy, rather than reducing it as Labour said it intended doing in its electoral programme. The aim of the new committee is to improve the quality of the product offered to tourists while targeting problems in certain areas.

There is no question that the island has made great progress in tourism in terms of hotel accommodation, restaurants and other facilities, and there has also been an improvement in the upkeep of a number of public places. But far too many other places on the island call for attention, particularly in so far as cleanliness is concerned.

At this time of the year, Malta looks better than at most other times, especially in summer when the heat of the summer sun reduces greenery to tinder, exposing piles of rubbish in neglected areas.

What stands out is lack of maintenance so evident in public places. The Environmental Landscape Consortium has been doing good work landscaping roundabouts. Some local councils have also done well in improving the environment in their localities.

However, a great number of places still cry out for some embellishment and regular maintenance. Sometimes, it is the little things that give a bad impression of a place. Take Valletta, for example: rubbish bins ought to be cleaned or replaced more often, rather than being left to overflow.

The national tourism zone committee is expected to work closely with local councils and the four regional tourism committees. Hopefully, no more committees and sub-committees will be formed and the new initiative will start to make a difference to the environment in no time.

One minister was reported saying it was important for work to get done right the first time so there would be no need to redo everything again. Even more important than this, however, is ensuring that, once a site is seen to, it is regularly maintained and not allowed to fall into neglect again as so often happens.

It is all very well to think of how best the tourist product can be further improved, but the exercise entrusted to the new committee ought to be considered as being of benefit primarily to the Maltese. Taking greater pride in the country will automatically lead to greater respect of the environment generally. It takes time to develop such a mentality and each administration has to work hard to cultivate new attitudes.

There are other matters besides maintenance that go hand in hand, as it were, with the general aims of the exercise – orderliness and the observance of conditions laid down in permits for restaurants and entertainment facilities. It is surprising how often these are infringed, sometimes to the inconvenience of people, such as, for instance, when a restaurant blocks a pavement by placing more tables outside than it is allowed to.

Financial and human resources would also have to be made available to enable the carrying out of the exercise, for otherwise it will die before it is even born.

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